‘We have to Protect Them, but They don’t have to Protect Us’; Trump Dissatisfied with Japan-U.S. Security Treaty

By Shinji Abe / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

14:54 JST, March 7, 2025

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the Japan-U.S. security treaty on Thursday for not being reciprocal.

“I love Japan. We have a great relationship with Japan, but we have an interesting deal with Japan that we have to protect them, but they don’t have to protect us,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And by the way, they make a fortune with us economically … Who makes these deals?”

Trump made similar comments during his first term, but it was the first time he made them during his second.

Trump answered reporters’ questions after signing executive orders. He first complained that the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization only contribute a small portion financially to the organization’s military efforts, and then referred to the Japan-U.S. security treaty.

In response to Trump’s comments, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said it is possible for Japan to protect the United States with the limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense, at a press conference on Friday morning.

“In order to protect Japan, Japan and the United States can help each other in any situation without interruption,” Hayashi said, after mentioning the security-related law enacted in 2015 that allows for the limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense.

Hayashi also stressed Japan’s continued commitment to strengthening its own defense capabilities.

He also pointed out that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump reaffirmed the United States’ obligation to protect Japan during their first meeting in February.

“We are fully confident that the United States will fulfill its obligations stipulated in the treaty, using all types of capabilities, including nuclear weapons,” Hayashi said.